Bring your wallet, or your dreams, to Kissimmee antique auto auction

In the market for a 1956 Chevy Corvette prototype? Then the annual Mecum auto auction is the place to be.

Just make sure to bring along a check for about $3 million.

Too steep? Then how about a rare, pre-World War I license plate for, say, $40,000?

Thousands of fans took advantage of a cool, crisp day to wander through Osceola Heritage Park on Monday, checking out rare model cars and other artifacts from America's collective century-long love affair with the automobile.

Some just browsed as loudspeakers broadcast an auctioneer's rapid-fire patter. But others came to stake a claim on a vintage automobile at the largest classic-car auction in the world.

So just what are those auctioneers saying? Don't worry about it, advised lead auctioneer Mark Delzell, who's been working for auction founder and president Dana Mecum for 27 years.

"They're called filler words," said Delzell. "It could be anything — with some of them it's just a roll of the tongue. Don't try to understand what he's saying; just listen for the number."

And those numbers can get astronomical quickly. While there are bargains to be had, the big attractions this year are expected to attract seven-figure sums. Atop the list is that Corvette, nicknamed "The Real McCoy," which is credited with saving the brand.

Sam Murtaugh, Mecum's marketing director, estimated the car would go for between $2.8 million and $3.3 million after the bidding starts Saturday.

"There's something for everyone," Murtaugh said. "We've got everything from a $3,000 car to a $3 million car."

The cars and trucks (along with a few motorcycles, boats and even tractors) up for bid run the gamut from the early 20th century to the early 21st. You can find a 1930 Duesenberg limo once owned by actor Tyrone Power, a 2003 NASCAR race car and an immaculately kept 1987 Buick.

At the upper end of the spectrum, Murtaugh said, buying collector cars is as much an investment as it is a hobby. And after a few slow years caused by the Great Recession, the market in classic cars is roaring again.

"For many of our clients, this is a big piece of their portfolio," Murtaugh said. "If you study and do your homework, you can sometimes enjoy returns better than the stock market."

The event has been coming to Kissimmee since 2000. That year, "we couldn't fit 100 cars on the lot," Delzell recalled. This year there are about 3,000 filling the OHP grounds, and organizers expect attendance of 70,000 or more over the 10-day run.

Among the crowd Monday were Ryan Smith and his son, 13-year-old Caleb. The pair traveled from Melbourne so Caleb could check out some of the race cars up for auction.

"He's been a car fan since he was a little guy," Ryan said. Since about the age of 5, he recalled, Caleb could walk around a parking lot and identify all the makes of cars by looking at their emblems.

The Smiths were just looking, but might Caleb be back to buy when he gets a little older?